‘Shut down Yarl’s Wood!’ Protesters ‘kick down walls’ of detention center for deportees

Hundreds of demonstrators descended down on the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, where about 400 predominantly female migrants await their deportation from the UK. The center was labeled a place of ‘national concern’ by a prison watchdog last year.

An alliance of several diverse pro-migrant groups gathered outside the walls, holding banners saying “no sister is illegal,”“no borders,” and “f**k Serco,” in a reference to the private contractor that operates Yarl’s Wood.

Protesters, some of whom included previous residents at the secure facility, also launched symbolic smoke grenades, while several banged pots and pans on the chainlink fences, before forming a line and kicking down the walls.

One of UK’s 13 deportation centers, Yarl’s Wood has been beset by controversy since its opening in 2001. Once Europe’s largest migrant holding center, it was decimated by a fire following a riot within months of receiving its first residents.

Numerous inspections have accused the contractors of operating an unsafe and under-staffed facility, including HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) last year, which noted that conditions had deteriorated “severely” in the past two years, and expressed particular alarm at the scores of pregnant women kept on-site.